Engineering a Character

I was recently able to visit a friend in her new city of Chicago and she graciously took me around to see some of the famous sites of the Windy City. My favorite activity by far was the Architectural Boat Tour that we took up the Chicago River through the heart of the city.

As we made our way down the river (or up it - I don't know which term is correct in this case) our trusty tour guide filled us in on some of the fascinating history behind the city of Chicago and the amazing buildings that shot up on either side of us. I listened, enthralled by the architecture and history, and it wasn't too long before I was seeing the buildings, not as amazing feats of engineering (which they are), but as characters - which, I guess, is what happens when you're a writer.

As I listened, two things vividly touched my mind. Our tour guide started off by saying that Chicago was built on swampland and that builders have to dig at least 150 feet into the ground before they hit bedrock in order to lay their foundation. He also told us that the Willis Tower (formerly the Sears tower) the tallest building in North America (and for some time the world) took over a year for the foundation to be completed. After that, the building took off at two floors being built a week until the building's completion.

When I looked at the massive, imposing skyscraper, soaring dramatically above all the other buildings, I could understand why it would take a year simply secure it's footing. I also thought about what that meant when laying the groundwork for my own characters. If I want them to be strong and brilliant and able to withstand storms of criticism, then their foundations have to be deep and they have to be substantial, and they have to be secure. It will take time, but it will be worth it.

The second point our tour guide made, was how the buildings in the city interact with one another. As each successive architect raised a new structure, they would echo the buidlings around them in a subtle yet purposeful way. It may be a repeating of a flying butresses, a complimetary finish of terra cotta,or a mirrored tower - but the buildings reflect one another. The buildings, he told us, talk to each other. This was never more literal as in the structures, made completely of blue glass. Blue as a nod to the color of the Chicago River and mirrored for a literal reflection of every building around them.
And that was my second revelation - my characters have to reflect one another, they have to talk to one another. Does my character reflect her mother? Because she should. Does she reflect her best friend? She should as well. All of our characters are part and parcel of the people around them because those people - family, friends, foes - are what shape and mold them. No man is an island.

As I leave The Windy City, I take these new thoughts and ideas with me and I hope I can apply them to my characters with the same dignity and strength as these architects did with their masterpieces.

Happy Writing.